Case and drawer for bill-files



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

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(No Model.)

CASE AND DRAWER FOR BILL FILES.

Patented June 2,1891.

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TH: Nanms paens cc., mom-u1' (No Model.) 2 sheecs-sheet 2.

' H..J. HOFFMAN.

CASE AND DRAWER BOR BILL PILES.

No. 453,397. d Patented June 2, 1891.

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UNITED ASTATES PATENT OFFICE.

HORACE LIOSEPH HOFFMAN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

CASE AND DRAWER FOR BILL-FILES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters PatentNo. 453,397, dated June 2, 1891.

Application filed May 21, 1890. Serial No. 352,627. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HORACE JOSEPH HOFF- MAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook, State of Illinois, have invented new and useful Improvements in Cases and Drawers for Files; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to improvementsin drawers and cases therefor; and it consists of peculiarities of construction, which will be fully described and claimed hereinafter in this specification, as well as shown in the accompanying drawings, forming part thereof.

The object I have in view in improving the file-drawer shown and described in a previous application yet pending is to provide a receptacle wherein letters, policies, and all such documents kept for reference can be filed unfolded or dat, so as to be ready for perusal or examination as soon as the drawer containing the same has been pulled out of its pigeonhole. This is obtained in my new device by extending the sides the full height of the drawer, but detaching them from the body of the same, except at 0r near the bottom thereof, to which they are connected through a hinge-joint, by means of which the said sides are adapted to swing laterally out, as the cover of a book, when the drawer is out of the case. The papers may be held therein between blank leaves or otherwise, according to the nature of the same, and the inclination which t-he expanding sides of the drawer may reach may be regulated in any desirable manner, as is shown in the drawings, -where the sides are connected at about two-thirds of their height with the drawers rear head by a chain and spring.

Another part of my invention is a modification of the locking device described in the pending application alluded to above, by means of which the drawer may be unlocked at the same moment and by the very motion which pulls it out of its pigeon-hole.

The improvement in the construction of the case consists in a deyice permitting of the use of the lightest possible material and securing in the same time all the rigidity and strength requisite. This construction allows also of giving to the sides and doors of the case a look of ornamented finish which could not otherwise be imparted as cheaply as this is.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a front elevation of a series of drawers, the central one being open and with its sides expanded. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the' same. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the drawer with sides expanded. Fig. 4 is a broken side section of a drawerfront, showing modification of the locking device. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a case side or panel,half of which being broken out to show the slot of the embracing-frame. Fig. 6 is atop view of a case-panel, cross-sectioned at about the center thereof; and Fig. 7 is a similar View of a modified form of the same.

My letter-file drawer is made of a single piece of sheet metal with backwardly-turned flanges d in its front head A, forwardly-turnediianges I) in its rear head B, and upwardlyturned flanges c in its bottom C, all of said ilanges being connected at their meeting points by rivets or welding. The flanges a and I) are formed with a bead a b at their base, and the upper edge of the flange c is shaped so as to form half of the hinge c', that connects the sides or leaves D to the body of the drawer. These leaves arefcut of alength to fit snugly between the heads o b of the front and rear flanges c b, against which said leaves rest when the drawer is pushed in its pigeon hole. Then the drawer has been pulled out therefrom, the leaves natu rally fall out, each on its side, and they may be given whatever incline may seem desirable by any suitable hanging device, but preferably by means of a light chain E of suitable'length,

connecting the rear and front edges of the leaves D to the corresponding heads of the drawer, and a coil-spring e is provided between the point of attachment in the said heads and the inner end of the chain, the said spring being adjusted so as to take up the slack of the chain when the leaves D are closing up. A suitable perforation is made in each of the liangcs a and Z1 for the free passage of the chain. The papers, whether letters, policies, or deeds, are held within the leaves or sides inl any suitable manner, and

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all the improvementsl which are the subjectinatter of my application pending on ille drawers will naturally apply to this modification of my improved drawer for files.

The locking dev'ice shown in Fig. 4 may be made to operate on each side of the drawerfront, as was shown and described in the pending application; but in the present form it is shown as working from one point onlythat is, in line with the center of the drawer. The lock-shank F is extended therefrom parallel with and close to the front head A, up to within a half inch or so of the point where the upper portion of the handle is connected with the said head. Three sides of a square slot a2 are cut in the said head, and the metal thereof is bentiuward at right angles on the uncutside of said slot to form a lip or flange as. This lip is centrally perforated, as shown at a, to receive the upper end of the straight portion of the lock-shank. Abutting against the lower face of the lip a3 is the coil-spring fr, which freely embraces the lock-shank down to the point a, where the said spring is firmly fixed to the same. The action of the coil-spring tends to keep the locking end a7 in the shelf orcase socket, while the outwardly-bent portion a8 of the said stem serves to raise the locking end outy as the hand grasping the drawer-s handle first comes in contact with the same. This bent portion of the stein may be variously shaped, so as to conform as nearly as possible with the shape of the handle, the main part to be considered being its coming in contact with the lingers of the hand before the action of the latter is felt on the pullinghandle itself.

In the application above referred `to I have described and shown a peculiar manner of constructing the tile-case.

In Figs. 5, 6, and '7 of the accompanying drawings I show a new mode of constructing the sides and doors of cases out of sheet metal, which secures for the same the requisite degree of strength without adding much to their weight. F is the side or door panel. Its edges f f are embedded in the hollow, square, or round pipe-frame G, which is for this purpose slotted on its inner face, as shown at g g. In certain cases, where additional rmness is required, the embedded portion of the panel ma'y be bent to conform to the inner face of the pipe G, thus securing the part-s in a closer manner.

The pipe-frame G may be made to receive a high polish, and may be nickeled or gilded or treated in diverse ways, so as to greatly add to the appearance of the case, besides giving it the requisite strength.

Having thus described niyinventiou, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. As a new article of manufacture, a drawer having the front and rear heads and bottom made of one single piece and rigid leaves or sides hinged to said bottom, the said sides being adapted to close against and flush with the heads when the drawer is in its case and to open outwardly at a suitable angle as the said drawer is out in front of the case, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In a drawer for letter-files, the front head having rearwardly-turned flanges, the rear head having frontwardly-turned flanges, and the bottom having upwardly-turned flanges, in combination with rigid leaves or sides freely connected with the bottom flanges and indexed paper partitions attached to tho drawer-bottom, the same being held on edge parallel with the rigid leaves, substantially as shown and described, and for the purpose set forth.

3. In a drawer for letter-files, the combination of the front head having rearwardlyturned flanges, the rear head having frontwardlyturned flanges, each of said flanges being provided with a head at a slight distance from its free edge, the bottom having upwardly-turned flanges, each of the latter having one half of the hinge formed on its upper edge, the rigid leaves or sides, each having the other half of a hinge formed on its lower` edge, and the rod connecting the hinge -halves so formed, substantially as sh'own and described, and for the purpose set forth.

a. In a drawer for files, the front and rear heads and bottom formed on one single piece and the hinge-sides, substantially as described, in combination with the indexed sheets and the chain and spring connection interposed between the hinged sides and the drawer-heads, substantially as and `for the purpose set forth.

5. In a case for files, a side or panel of sheet metal having its edges embedded in a slotted hollow frame, substantially as and for the purpose -set forth.

G. In a case for files, a side or panel of sheet metal having its edges embedded in a slotted hollow frame, the embedded portion of said edges being bent to conform partially or totally to the internal face of the said frame, substantially as set forth.

7J In a case for files, a drawer having a latch working beyond its body and adapted to recede out of its locking position as the drawer-handle is grasped, as set forth.

8. In a case for files, the combination of a lock-shank having its free end curved so as to conform to the inner face of the drawerhandle and stand at a short distance in rear of said handle, and the spring operating the shank with the drawer-handle, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed `the above, in presence of two witnesses, this 19th day of May, 1890.

HORACE JOSEPH HOFFMAN.

Witnesses;

J. W. GORMAN, EMILE DUMAIs.

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